As per research surveys by Google, Penguin
2.0 detrimentally affected only about 2.3% of English-US search queries.
Doesn’t that sound like a really low number? It may, but in the record of
algorithm rollouts, this was known to be the largest update till date. It
wasn’t just queries that were struck, but Penguin 2.0 also impacted web traffic
of thousands of websites. Innumerable webmasters complained reductions of
traffic of up to 90% and this update was reported to cripple businesses and
halt all kinds of online revenues. However, despite all this, all of us are on
the verge of yet another algorithm upset, the Penguin 3.0!

The target of Penguin 3.0

Spammy backlinks, exact match anchor text,
optimized anchor texts, paid links and irrelevant and wanted links were always
the target of all the Penguin updates. But will this Penguin 3.0 target at
something more? If yes, then what are they? Have a look at some of the best
guesses at what the Penguin 3.0 will aim at.

Any optimized anchor texts: We
all are well aware of the fact that the days of keyword-rich anchor text
and exact march keywords are over. However, this is going to be more
important than ever in the history of all the Penguin updates. Experts
strongly suggest avoiding any kind of optimization of anchors. SEO
analysts have been analyzing for some time now that anchors will gradually
have limited impact on search results. The trend is moving towards
co-occurence and co-citation and the rise of a more social web where
backlinks won’t just play a very important role.

Any bad quality backlinks: Any
backlink from a bad neighbourhood website isn’t supposed to be the kind of
backlink that you want. An illegal or rather suspicious website that sends
a backlink to a legitimate and well-organized site immediately gives an
aura of suspicion and illegitimacy to the legal site. If you execute
enough control over the backlinks of your site, ensure that they come from
sites of equal relevancy and domain authority level.

Any link from a guest blogging network: Google is obviously revolting against article networks like
MyBlogGuest or PostJoint. In fact, Matt Cutts didn’t joke when he promised
to jerk off the guest blogging networks. He already has done so and will
continue to do so. This time, it will be built right into the algorithm.

How to know whether or not you’re at risk?

Neither did Penguin 2.0 affect every site
nor will Penguin 3.0 do. Nevertheless, to play it safe, you should continuously
keep auditing your content and link profile. In order to find out whether or
not you’re at risk due to Penguin 3.0, you first require finding out if you
were at risk by Penguin 2.0. There are different tool websites through which
you can ensure whether you had been targeted by Penguin 2.0 and whether you can
be at risk due to the Penguin 3.0.

Now that comprehend Penguin’s target and site,
it’s time to take some action. Conduct a link profile audit because if Penguin
3.0 rolls in and you get penalized, you’ll be forced to conduct a thorough
audit. Don’t you think it’s better to be proactive and audit your link profile
than to suffer the long-term upshots of the penalty action?